


Sousuke's Guide to Wooing Haruka Nanase

by abillionstars



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 22:12:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4582032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abillionstars/pseuds/abillionstars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Sousuke is leaving me gifts,” says Haru indignantly after bursting into Makoto’s apartment and scaring the cats into hiding. Makoto, being used to this sort of intrusion, sighs and bookmarks the page in his textbook before looking up at Haru with a patient smile. “He is—he is leaving me food and notes about how he watered my plants the other day just ‘because they looked a little thirsty’ and books about <i>swimming</i> and he is being <i>too nice</i>, Makoto.”</p><p>“Wow,” says Makoto. “Your life is truly difficult, Haru-chan.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sousuke's Guide to Wooing Haruka Nanase

**Author's Note:**

> forgive me for i have written another clichéd story

 

The mackerel pie is the _last straw_. It is the last straw on a pile that broke the camel’s back, except in this case, the camel is Haru’s patience and the straws are a pile of confusing kindness.

“Sousuke is leaving me gifts,” says Haru indignantly after bursting into Makoto’s apartment and scaring the cats into hiding. Makoto, being used to this sort of intrusion, sighs and bookmarks the page in his textbook before looking up at Haru with a patient smile. “He is—he is leaving me food and notes about how he watered my plants the other day just ‘because they looked a little thirsty’ and books about _swimming_ and he is being _too nice_ , Makoto.”

“Wow,” says Makoto. “Your life is truly difficult, Haru-chan.”

“In fact,” continues Haru, pacing the floor in a way that Makoto deems as decidedly un-Haru, “he says hello to me in the hallways, Makoto, on a _consistent_ basis. Usually it’s just—little nods of acknowledgement!”

“I have literally never seen you this worked up about something,” says Makoto with some surprise. Haru shoots him a look that speaks of imminent death, and Mako raises a hand to hide his smile.

“Maybe Rin’s coming over.” Haru furrows his brow, deep in thought. “Maybe they’ve had a fight and Sousuke is secretly buttering me up so that he can get information on how Rin’s doing.”

“That sounds highly unlikely, seeing as Rin would probably tell us if he was coming all the way to our university.”

“Makoto.” Haru gives Makoto a look that clearly says how unamused he is and how Makoto isn’t helping at all. The cats creep out when Haru stops pacing; Ayaka pounces on Haru’s loose shoelace and Isamu starts climbing up his jeans, meowing for attention. 

“I mean, is it really so bad?” asks Makoto. “Wow, he’s being nice, what a _bummer_?”

“It’s unnatural,” says Haru with finality. 

“Not really.” Makoto shrugs. “You’ve seen how he acts to Gou and Rin, and he’s always been polite to me.”

Haru picks up Isamu and scratches behind his ears before sitting down next to Makoto, cradling the cat thoughtfully.

“Maybe he misses the water,” says Haru with the air of one who has discovered the truth. “Maybe he misses it so much that he’s talking to me as a way to get close to it again.”

“I _really_ don’t think that’s what he’s doing, Haru-chan.”

 

If possible, Nagisa and Rei are even less helpful. Nagisa asks him to ask Sou-chan to gift chocolates, and Rei calculates a 30% probability that Sousuke has some ulterior motive behind his friendliness. Haru walks away from the visit frustrated and also hungry: Nagisa has no mackerel in his house. 

“Yuck,” says Nagisa, when Haru asks if there’s mackerel for dinner. “I ate enough mackerel in high school to last me a lifetime.”

Offended, Haru seriously reconsiders his choice in friends.

 

It is as a last resort that he calls Rin. He dials the number with some trepidation, waits through four rings, and then Rin’s customary “Yo,” is filtering through to Haru’s ear, tinny from distance and staticky.

“Sousuke is being nice to me,” Haru says with no greeting. “I need you to get him to stop.”

There’s utter silence, and then Rin starts laughing. Starts guffawing, actually, which quickly transitions to chortling, giggling, snickering, and so forth. It goes on for a full forty-five seconds, and probably longer, except Haru hangs up and does not hear if Rin continues.

A minute later, Rin calls. When Haru answers, he’s still laughing, but valiantly trying to talk through it. “Sousuke’s doing _what_?” he asks.

“You heard me the first time,” says Haru, voice flat with annoyance. It’s typical of Rin to be the most annoying friend Haru has the curse of having, and Haru is painfully reminded of it every time they talk. 

“No, no, but I need context, Haru. What’s he doing?”

“He left me a pie this morning.”

“A pie?”

“A mackerel pie.”

“He never makes me pies.” Rin almost sounds offended, but Haru knows that he’s probably wiping the tears of mirth off his cheeks. What an asshole. “I’m going to have to have a talk with him about that—”

“Don’t!” yelps Haru, and Rin makes a funny choking noise. Haru has a strong suspicion that it’s probably him trying to suppress a laugh. 

“Don’t,” repeats Haru, trying to calm down. “I don’t want him to know that I’m not happy. With him being nice. To me.”

“Do you even hear yourself right now,” says Rin, and Haru reflects on how similar his and Makoto’s responses were. Vaguely, he wonders why he even called Rin in the first place. 

“Look,” Rin is saying, “Just enjoy it while it lasts. Sousuke is a really generous person. And that probably extends to _every_ aspect in his relationships.”

Haru wonders about this for a second, and then Rin’s sniggering clues him in to the fact that Rin indeed, was making a dirty innuendo. His cheeks blaze and he makes a small, involuntary noise that makes Rin’s laughter kick back up to hysterical. Even after he hangs up, it takes a while for his heart rate to go back down to normal, because he keeps—keeps _imagining_ what Rin means when he calls Sousuke generous in every aspect, and, oops, there goes his heart rate again.

Rin, he concludes after short deliberation, is an idiot.

 

“Haru,” says Sousuke when Haru bumps into him in the hallway. One side of his mouth curves up into a greeting smile. He’s stupidly handsome, Haru thinks with a vindictive bitterness. “How are you?”

“Fine,” says Haru, and then just to spite Sousuke, asks, “How has your day been?”

 _Ha,_ Haru says silently to himself. _Vengeance is mine._

“Oh, it’s been great,” says Sousuke with a pleased curl to his smile. He jingles his keys in his hand and Haru once again wonders how it came to be that they lived in the same apartment complex, three doors down from each other. Honestly. What were the _odds_. “I actually talked to Rin today—”

Haru contemplates homicide.

“—And he told me to tell you that he says hello,” says Sousuke. 

“Did he,” says Haru through gritted teeth. 

“Yeah.” Sousuke looks fond at the thought of Rin. “I wonder when he’s coming to visit. Last time it was—what, New Years? No, no, he came to visit just a few months ago. I remember ‘cause he brought you that whole case of mackerel and you ate it all in the week he was here.”

Sousuke laughs slightly. Haru doesn’t, and watches a little regretfully as Sousuke’s laugh peters out. Sousuke really did have a lovely laugh that he doesn’t let others hear too often. 

“Anyway.” Sousuke clears his throat, shuffles his feet. “So, listen, I actually wanted to talk to you about something Rin said—”

“Rin’s a liar,” Haru says immediately. “He’s an incredible prankster and sometimes, you know, people actually believe him. Don’t trust a single thing he says.”

Sousuke gives Haru a strange, bewildered look. “So your birthday _isn’t_ on June 30 th?”

Oh. 

“Oh,” says Haru.

For a minute, they just stay there in the hallway, Sousuke absently twirling the keys around his finger, Haru fighting down a surge of embarrassment. It was an emotion rarely experienced by him and it was rather discomfiting. 

Then Sousuke coughs, delicate, and says, “So, is it?”

“Ah—yes.” Haru scrubs a hand over the back of his neck. “It is. How—why?”

Sousuke clears his throat once more and then says, “I’ve recently come into the possession of two tickets to the local aquarium, and I thought that maybe we could go together.”

Haru’s mouth drops open, just slightly. Sousuke’s eyes flick to it and then back up to Haru’s eyes. 

“I mean,” he says, and his voice is just a little bit faster, “we don’t necessarily have to go on your birthday—I’m sure you have plans with Makoto—but I thought that maybe we could go the weekend before? Or after. It doesn’t matter.”

He’s twirling his keys faster and faster, and Haru thinks dimly that Sousuke is _nervous_. It’s a bit of a startling realization, honestly, and almost a little endearing.

“Yes,” says Haru, and Sousuke fumbles his keys. They fall and hit the ground with the clang, a dismal little heap next to Haru’s white and blue sneakers. Haru stoops to the ground and picks them up, dropping them into Sousuke’s outstretched hand. “That sounds—that sounds great. I’m not sure if I’m busy on my birthday. Makoto usually does something without telling me beforehand, so you might want to confer with him.”

“That—wow.” Sousuke scratches his head, and his grin grows into something even more brilliant. Haru’s breath catches a tiny bit at the sight of it. “Okay. I’ll text you the information.”

“You don’t have my phone number,” Haru points out.

“Right.” Sousuke looks at him expectantly. Haru considers telling Sousuke to leave a note on Haru’s door—it’s not like he hasn’t done it before—but instead just pulls out his phone and hands it to Sousuke. Sousuke’s quick and efficient and Haru appreciates it.

“I guess I’ll talk to you later,” says Sousuke, slowly taking two steps back. 

“I guess,” parrots back Haru. 

He watches as Sousuke goes back to his own apartment and messes with the keys, searching for the right one. When Sousuke manages to finally get the door open, he looks up and flashes a grin at Haru before closing the door behind him.

Haru leans against the walls, alone in the hallway, and breathes.

 

“You got a _date_ , Haru-chan, and you didn’t _tell me_?” 

Nagisa is offended, ecstatic, and curious all at the same time. How he manages to be all those emotions without exploding is a mystery to Haru, and probably always shall remain that way.

“How did you even get into my apartment,” says Haru, resigned. Nagisa waves a key in the air. Typical.

Behind Nagisa, Rei pushes his glasses up his nose. “Is it a girl that you met in school?” he asks very seriously. “Is it someone we know?”

“It’s not Gou-chan, is it?” Nagisa’s eyes are very wide. “Such _scandal_ , Haru-chan! Rin-chan’s gonna _kill_ you.”

“No, it’s not Gou,” says Haru, flipping over his mackerel. It sizzles, comfortingly, as if it is commiserating with him about how annoying Nagisa is. He wonders about the speed with which Nagisa and Rei made it to his apartment; he only texted Makoto an hour ago. “It’s not a date, either.”

“Is it a _girl_?” asks Nagisa, slyly, like he think he’s being subtle. Haru levels a very flat look at Nagisa and the other boy deflates like a popped balloon. “Haru- _chan_ , I’m _dying_ here. Give me something to _work_ with.”

Haru evenly divides up the mackerel into three sections and puts them alongside the plated rice and vegetables. Rei and Nagisa take them at first with relative equanimity, and then Rei starts arranging the food so that it is more aesthetically appealing, while Nagisa ladles sugar onto the whole thing. Frankly, it’s a little underwhelming to realize that these are two of the people he cares about most in the world.

Nagisa doesn’t stop pestering Haru all throughout the meal, and then slumps after Haru takes away his plate. He rubs his head on the table and says, voice muffled and bleak with endless disappointment, “Haru-chan is so _mean_. Rei-chan and I go to all the effort of coming down here so that we can spend some quality time with our dear, beloved friend, and he won’t even tell us who his date is.”

Because Haru truly does love them, he gives Nagisa his last mochi ice-cream. Nagisa perks up right away and is thoroughly distracted while Rei and Haru talk about Rei’s current work. He distantly recalls Rei telling him about studying astrophysics and it is every bit as boring as he remembers when Rei starts expounding about the fascinating math equations he works on in school. On the coffee table, out of reach, Haru’s phone beeps.

“I’ll get that for you,” Nagisa announces cheerfully, and reaches for Haru’s phone. Seconds later, he gives the most dramatic gasp that Haru has ever heard—seriously, he’s a little concerned for Nagisa’s lungs—and shrieks, “YOU’RE GOING OUT WITH SOU-CHAN?”

“Give me that,” says Haru and snatches the phone out of Nagisa’s hands. 

_So, is Friday okay? I’d pick you up around noon, we go eat lunch, and then aquarium. Makoto says that you’re not available on your birthday, so I hope two days early is fine._

Huh. Makoto must be planning a party, then. _Friday’s fine_ , texts back Haru and locks his phone. Nagisa’s still choking dramatically.

“Sousuke was on my list of people you may be going on a date with,” says Rei, “but I admit, he was pretty far down.”

“Well,” says Nagisa with a wicked gleam in his eyes, histrionics momentarily forgotten, “that’s understandable, considering that he’ll probably want to go down.”

Rei makes a highly mortified squeak, stuttering out, “ _N-Nagisa-kun!_ ” while Nagisa cackles and Haru hates his life.

 

Later, much later, Nagisa and Rei have left and Haru’s preparing for bed when he gets a call. Unsurprisingly, it’s from Rin.

“You’re GOING OUT WITH SOUSUKE?” squawks Rin, offensively loud in Haru’s ear. “That is—I don’t—I can’t believe I had to learn this from _Nagisa_ of all people, and not from you, Haru. Tell me _everything_ , I need to know _everything_ —”

Haru takes vindictive pleasure in hanging up.

(For good measure, he switches off his phone and puts it as far aways as possible before sinking into bed. It’s blissful, to say the least.)

 

When he does, finally, turn his phone back on, it comes to life buzzing with text messages from pretty much everybody he knows.

Makoto, from 11:00 p.m. _Rin just called me and ranted for about twenty minutes about how you and Sousuke are breaking the rules of being his best friends by getting together. I don’t even know what I did to deserve this._

Nagisa, from 12:04 p.m. _Haru-chan, I may have told Rin-chan._

Also from Nagisa, two minutes after the first one: _I also may have told Gou-chan_.

Gou, from 6:30 a.m. _Congratulations, Haru-senpai! You and Sousuke are both amazing(ly muscular) people and deserve the best (protein shakes) in the world!_

And lastly, from Sousuke, sent ten minutes ago: _Cool, see you Friday_.

 

Friday dawns with a leisurely soak in the bathtub and a quiet morning. Haru fries mackerel for breakfast and waters his plants. There’s no reason for Sousuke to be late—after all, the guy lives three doors down—but Haru finds himself tapping his fingers almost nervously. It’s a little disconcerting.

So he calls Makoto.

“What’s up, Haru?” asks Makoto, sounding distracted. “Sorry, I’m trying to take away my sock from Isamu.”

“Don’t,” says Haru. “That’s a lost cause.”

“Ha-ha. What’d you call for?”

Haru pauses, but if Makoto is anything it’s _understanding_. “I think I’m actually going on a date with Sousuke,” he says.

“Hmm.” Makoto doesn’t sound surprised. “Yes, I figured as much when he asked me what I was doing for your birthday.”

“What _are_ you doing for my birthday?” asks Haru. 

“Shh. It’s a surprise.”

Haru rolls his eyes, but forges on. “I—don’t people usually like each other when they go out on dates?”

There’s a long pause. So long, in fact, that Haru checks his phone in order to make sure that the call wasn’t accidentally dropped. “Do you… _not_ like him?” asks Makoto finally. “Because I guess it wouldn’t be very nice to lead him to think otherwise.”

“I don’t know whether I like him like that,” says Haru, because it is the truth. “I’ve never really thought of him in that way. He was always Rin’s asshole friend, and then Rin’s friend, and then neighbor.”

“Oh, Haru,” sighs Makoto. “You’ve really never tried to talk to him? Never just hung out with him?”

Once. Once, not too long before Sousuke started going out of his way to be nice to Haru, they had been together. It had been at Rin’s birthday party, and Haru, overcome with claustrophobia, slipped out to the balcony of the apartment. Sousuke, to his surprise, had already been there.

They did not speak. Rather, they stood there, under the stars, and reveled in the tranquility, in the silence. The balcony was small enough that they had to stand so close that their arms brushed, and Haru remembers how the moment had stretched so long as to be infinite, while simultaneously remaining all too short.

“No,” says Haru. “We’ve…we’ve never done anything like that.”

It’s not a lie. Technically. Makoto’s bland hum of acknowledgement practically reeks with the insinuation that he knows Haru is lying, but is too nice to point it out. 

“Well then,” says Makoto. “Maybe give it a shot before you decide? Don’t think of this as a date, Haru-chan. Just think of it as two friends hanging out.”

“Right,” says Haru, and feels less reassured than he hoped he would. 

 

At precisely noon, Sousuke raps on Haru’s door. Any thoughts that Haru has of this being a platonic date are promptly dashed when he sees the bouquet in Sousuke’s hands.

“You brought flowers,” he says.

“Yeah,” says Sousuke and shrugs casually. Haru hates him, just a little bit, for being so calm about this whole affair, including these flowers. He looks handsome too, in a soft teal v-neck that makes his eyes look even brighter, the fabric clinging to his muscles like they couldn’t bear to let go. “Are you going to take them?”

Ah, yes, the flowers. “Let me go get some water for them and then we can leave,” says Haru.

Once safely inside his apartment and away from those stupid half-lidded eyes, Haru leans against the counter of his kitchen and breathes deeply. The sweet fragrance of the flowers fills his senses, and he can’t help but want to bury his face in them. They’re very pretty. Very blue-themed.

Instead of ruining the arrangement with his face, however, he takes out a vase, fills it halfway with water, and places the flowers carefully in them. 

“Ready,” he says, rejoining Sousuke at the door.

Sousuke smiles at him, and Haru breathes.

They take the train to the aquarium and stand a respectful distance apart, and Haru can’t help but wonder about what it would feel like if they weren’t a respectful distance apart; if they were like that other couple on the end of the train. The girl is tucked up snug against the boy, her hands resting lightly on his chest and they are talking, slow and soft. How would Sousuke feel if Haru did that?

How would Haru feel?

The train makes a stop. Distracted, Haru stumbles backwards, bouncing off Sousuke’s chest. “Sorry,” he says. Sousuke murmurs something affirmative.

The thought of close proximity, he must admit, isn’t repulsive. The thought of it being in public baring such intimacy makes him want to die, but the rest…the rest he could foreseeably muster up the courage to do. 

At the next stop, they get off. It’s humid outside, the clouds promising rain, and Haru belatedly realizes that he forgot to bring an umbrella. Sousuke seems to think the same thing, because he tips his head up, exposing the long, curved line of his neck, and says with an absent little tilt of his chin, “I wonder if it’ll rain.”

Haru shrugs, but his expression probably betrays the pathetic hope he feels inside at the thought of it raining. Perhaps Sousuke finds this amusing, because his smile twists into something fond. 

“I thought we were going to go to an aquarium,” says Haru.

“And you would be right.” Sousuke wiggles his fingers at the large building in front of them saying _Tokyo City Aquarium_. “And here we are.”

The line is long, but they eventually get inside. The lighting is blue-tinted from the water, but luminous. Haru trails his fingers over the glass and thinks about swimming. 

“Like it?” asks Sousuke. He’s close enough to Haru that Haru can feel his body heat on the left side. When he looks up, Sousuke is looking down, and his gaze is unfathomable. Like this, their faces are inches apart. 

Haru is the first to break away. “Yes,” he says simply, looking back at the aquarium. Sousuke says nothing, but lets out a long breath of what Haru guesses is relief. 

Relief about what, Haru is unsure.

“There’s a mackerel shark exhibit,” Sousuke says, and balks at how quickly Haru turns to him. 

“Mackerel?”

“They’re called mackerel because they _eat_ mackerel,” says Sousuke hastily, lips pressing together like he’s trying not to smile.

“Hm,” says Haru. “Disappointing."

"Yeah, I bet," says Sousuke, no longer even trying to hide his smile. The force of his grin is brilliant and has Haru's mouth tugging up a bit at the corners. "Let's check it out anyway."

 

Like all good things, it cannot last. In this case, the good times last about two hours, twenty minutes, before it ends. They are a blissful two hours, twenty minutes, filled with placidly swimming fish and cool blue waters, but it feels all too short.

It starts off with Haru feeling like he’s being watched. Every time he turns around, though, there’s simply a crowd of people behind him and nothing suspicious. For about fifteen minutes he’s half-convinced that he’s crazy and half-convinced that the ghosts of the dead fish are still haunting the aquarium and that they have chosen him as their weapon of revenge.

Then he sees a familiar flash of blond hair whipping around the corner when he turns his head a little faster than normal and he knows exactly what is going on.

Haru tugs at Sousuke’s wrist, and Sousuke turns around with a look of surprise. He doesn’t move away though, notes Haru. “What’s wrong?”

Haru tugs just a little harder and Sousuke obligingly crouches down a little bit so that Haru can lean closer and talk low. Even distracted by their stalkers, Haru notes the little shiver that runs through Sousuke’s body when Haru whispers in his ear, close and intimate, “We have an audience.”

Hopefully, it looks like he’s just whispering sweet nothings into Sousuke’s ear. Haru’s fingers tighten on Sousuke’s wrist.

“Who?” asks Sousuke, lips barely moving.

“Nagisa. Probably Rei too. Maybe Makoto. They’re following us and hiding.”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“What do _you_ want to do?” counters Haru.

Sousuke pulls back, eyes narrowing. “Hey, this is your birthday present, okay? This is for you?”

Haru pauses, chooses his next words carefully. “I’m fine doing whatever you choose,” he says. 

“Oh come on,” says Sousuke. “That’s—that’s definitely not true. You would not enjoy it if I decided that our next activity would be to go to the library and sit quietly for three hours.”

“No,” agrees Haru, “I wouldn’t. But you wouldn’t choose that.”

Sousuke gives him this look that clearly says Haru is too naïve, and Haru heaves a short sigh. “You’re not getting it,” he says. “It’s not that I’m okay with doing whatever—it’s because I trust you’ll choose something we’ll both enjoy. And that’s more important than just me enjoying it.”

For the first time, Sousuke loses his composure. His eyes widen, his mouth drops open a tiny bit, and his cheeks flush a lovely pink. “Haru,” he says, voice rough, and Haru holds his gaze until it becomes almost unbearable. He’s reminded of Rin’s constant proclamation that Haru is too blunt for his own good, but Sousuke doesn’t look offended, he looks, he looks—

Flattered. Happy. Emotional.

They stand there, their own little island among a sea of other visitors. Sousuke’s eyes are so very bright.

“Haru,” Sousuke repeats, “do you still want to look around the aquarium?”

They were almost finished with all the exhibits, anyway. “Do you have any other ideas?” asks Haru.

Sousuke’s eyes are dark, his pupils huge. Somewhere along the way, Haru’s grip slipped down from Sousuke’s wrist to his hand, and Haru is suddenly aware of this when Sousuke squeezes his hand tight. His grip is firm and warm. 

“Yes,” he says. “I did—I do have something in mind.”

“Then let’s do that instead.”

 

First, though, it’s a matter of losing their stalkers. That requires a lot of bobbing and weaving through the crowds, almost losing each other in the lunchroom, hiding for a few minutes in the public bathrooms before sneaking out of the aquarium. Haru feels giddy, heady with adrenaline in a way that’s familiar in context of a swimming competition, but thoroughly foreign in a situation such as this. 

Sousuke occasionally looks over at Haru, as if checking to make sure that he’s still there, as if this is some sort of a dream. It warms Haru down to his toes.

Haru’s phone bleeps from a new text message. It’s from Nagisa. _How’s your date?_

Haru rolls his eyes and shows the message to Sousuke, who grins. _As if you don’t know_ , texts back Haru.

 _Got me!_ _(_ ≧▽≦ _) But seriously, you guys just disappeared. Where r u?_

Two seconds later: _Wherever you guys are, I hope you’re safe! Wear condoms!_

_Go away_ , texts Haru and locks his phone.

Haru honestly doesn’t know where they’re going. They take two different buses, with about a five minute drive on each one, and when Haru checks his watch, it’s 3:00. The clouds lay heavy in the sky, moving sluggishly from the weight of the water in them. Haru hopes it rains.

There’s a—a _legit horse carriage_ waiting for them when they disembark from the bus. At first, Haru almost walks past it, but Sousuke clears his throat, tugs him back, and tips his head towards the carriage.

Both of Haru’s eyebrows go up. “Are you serious?”

Sousuke shrugs. “It seemed like a nice thought.”

The driver is a cheerful-looking girl who wink merrily at Sousuke when they get into the carriage. Judging from Sousuke’s slight grin in her direction, Haru guesses that they are friends. “Ready, Sousuke?” she asks, gloved hands gripping reins lightly.

“Ready,” says Sousuke once Haru is in and settled, left side pressed up tight against Sousuke. They still haven’t let go of their hands, Haru notes. Clearly, the girl’s noticed as well, because her gaze drops down to their hands before her smile broadens and she turns to ready the two horses.

They go up a large dirt path that’s only just a little bit bumpy, and after about two minutes in the ride, Haru hears something. It’s like a distant roar, and he straightens up, because it sounds _familiar_. 

It sounds— it sounds like—He turns to Sousuke, eyes wide.

Sousuke chuckles, rueful. “And here I thought I’d manage to keep it a secret.”

He’s gripping Sousuke’s hand so tightly that it must hurt when the carriage pulls around the bend and he can _see_ it: all white, rushing water that crashes into a pool of crystalline blue-green. “Sousuke,” he says, eyes wide, fairly tumbling out of the carriage when it stops.

“It’s nice, isn’t it.” Sousuke has to almost shout in order for Haru to hear him, but Haru doesn’t mind. He’s too busy staring at the waterfall in front of them. As waterfalls go, it’s fairly small, but it’s still incredible. Beautiful.

His hands reach for the zipper of his jeans.

“Oh, god, I should’ve expected this,” says Sousuke, laughing, red-faced as Haru strips down with incredible speed, tossing his clothes with reckless abandon. “Of course you wore your swimsuit. Of _course_.”

The rest of his words are lost, indistinguishable from the rush of water was Haru jumps in. It’s cool and refreshing and Haru sighs with pleasure, diving until his fingers touch the fine silt at the bottom and then he stands up. The water near the bank is just shallow enough to be shoulder-deep.

Sousuke’s hung Haru’s abandoned clothing on a nearby tree branch, and slipped off his shoes, rolled up his pants, and is sitting with his feet kicking idly in the water. He smiles when Haru shakes the water out of his eyes and looks up.

“Aren’t you going to get in?” asks Haru. He’s not accustomed to speaking loudly, but he’ll bear with it for the sake of the waterfall.

“ _I_ didn’t bring my swim trunks,” says Sousuke. Haru flicks water at him. “Stop that.”

Sousuke is apparently content with just sitting there by the waterfall and Haru revels in the peace. It’s secluded from the rest of Tokyo—here, Haru can imagine that there’s no such thing as meddling friends or competitive swimming. Here, there’s just the waterfall, him, and Sousuke.

And normally—normally, Haru would object to having someone along, even Makoto, because they always feel the need to make _conversation_ and it _spoils_ it, spoils the quietude of Haru’s happiness. This, to him, is something more private than even masturbation.

But Sousuke—Sousuke feels different, almost, like rather than breaking the silence he contributes to it. He hasn’t got Makoto’s warm, soothing personality, or Rin’s competitive nature that gets Haru raring to beat him, but there’s definitely something different.

Time has passed. How much, Haru isn’t sure, but he opens his eyes when he feels the first splash of rain. The clouds, tired of their burden, have stopped carrying it, and as such, rain is pelting down upon them. Sousuke’s excuse for staying out of the water has now been rendered moot and Haru’s selfishly pleased.

“Dammit,” says Sousuke with a rueful laugh. “I really—I really should’ve expected this.”

Haru blinks at him placidly. “Well,” he says, “At least now you can come in.”

Sousuke grumbles, but stands up and strips off his shirt and pants, easy. He hangs them on the same branch as Haru’s clothing, and then jumps in, boxers and all. There is a tremendous splash and Haru is rocked back slightly, but when Sousuke resurfaces, there’s a gleam in his eyes that makes Haru’s breathing stutter for a second.

“See?” says Haru, self-satisfied. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Sousuke lifts his hand out of the water and watches the rain drip off of it and back into the lake. “So, uh, you’re enjoying this, right?”

Haru gives him a very flat look, and Sousuke laughs. “I was just checking.”

“Well that’s stupid,” says Haru, and this just makes Sousuke laugh even more. Haru turns his face away, smiles privately. 

“You really make me like water again, you know?” says Sousuke suddenly, catching Haru’s hand. “I—I hated it, for a bit, hated swimming because it was something I couldn’t do without feeling agony, but when I look at you, at your obvious joy in swimming, it makes me rediscover that joy again.”

Haru is silent. That’s possibly the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to him.

Misinterpreting his silence, Sousuke laughs awkwardly and lets go of Haru’s hand. “Yeah, I know, it’s stupid.”

Haru thinks about the flowers, the aquarium, Sousuke’s eyes, the damned mackerel pie, and then finds that it’s easy to slide his fingers through Sousuke’s hair, tip his head up and lean closer so that their lips meet. For a moment, Sousuke stops breathing and then he makes a low, satisfied, _hungry_ noise that cuts Haru to the bone. His mouth opens against Haru’s, fingers gently tilting Haru’s chin so that their lips glide together more smoothly.

He is, Haru thinks dizzily, very good at this.

“So you do like me,” says Sousuke breathlessly when they part. It’s less of a question and more of a statement, but Haru nods anyway. Sousuke inhales quickly, and there’s—

There’s love in his eyes, even if he doesn’t say it outright. There’s joy and there’s fondness and Haru would never drown in water but he could drown in the emotion in Sousuke’s eyes. So he shuts his own and lets his mouth fall open on a gasp when Sousuke kisses him again.

It’s almost dark by the time they leave the waterfall and ride back down the mountain with their smugly smiling driver. (Haru sees her high-five Sousuke when she thinks he isn’t paying attention.) As the roar of the waterfall fades from Haru’s ear, he presses his cheek against the damp fabric stretching across Sousuke’s chest and smiles, secret, to himself.

 

On Haru’s birthday, there’s swimming practice. For most people this would be a point of contention, but Haru is somewhat overjoyed. Somehow (probably due to Makoto), they found out that his birthday is today and there’s much congratulatory birthday punches and off-key singing. It’s nice. They’re no Iwatobi, but they’re good enough.

After practice, though, he comes out to the lobby to see Sousuke waiting for him. “I thought I’d come pick you up,” says Sousuke, and Haru nods. Their fingers twine together as they walk back to their apartment complex.

He thought that Sousuke would retire once they reached his door, but instead Sousuke continues walking, three doors down, until they’re outside Haru’s door. And then Haru thinks, _fuck it_ , and presses Sousuke against the door to kiss him.

Sousuke sucks in a sharp breath of surprise and then responds, cupping Haru’s face with gentle hands, kissing him like he’s something precious. It’s so sweet that Haru’s toes curl in his sneakers. He’s the best birthday present Haru could ever have hoped to get.

“Ah, Haru,” says Sousuke, open-mouthed. “We should—inside—”

“Good idea,” says Haru gravely. “I have a bed.”

Sousuke makes a strangled noise. It’s kinda cute.

Haru opens his door with all the intent of taking things further and then the minute it’s open, shoves himself closer to Sousuke to kiss him. Sousuke makes a thud when he hits the wall, and Haru thinks vaguely that something’s off, that Sousuke’s body is far too rigid like he’s nervous and—

“HAPPY BIRTHDA—oh.”

The lights flick on, and staring at them with mouths agape are Nagisa, Rei, Makoto, Gou, and most surprisingly, Rin. So Makoto’s plans for Haru’s birthday turned out to be a surprise party. It’d be sweet if it wasn’t for this bad timing.

To anybody else, reflects Haru, this situation would be a source of extreme embarrassment, but he finds that he couldn’t care less about the unexpected voyeurs. Rather, he’s a little bit annoyed that his plans were interrupted. A quick sidelong glance at Sousuke, however, reveals that _he_ doesn’t feel that way at all—Sousuke’s face is bright red with mortification. 

For a moment, everything is frozen, but then Rin doubles over and starts laughing so hard and so obnoxiously that Haru hopes that he falls and breaks his face. However, it seems to break the frozen tableau, because Gou and Makoto also start laughing, though much less raucously than Rin, while Rei mutters something under his breath.

“Get it, Haru-chan!” cheers Nagisa, waving his hands wildly in the air.

Haru tugs gently at Sousuke’s hand. He's all too aware of Nagisa’s pointed hooting and of the fact that Rin is laughing so hard that actual tears are dripping down his face and his breath is wheezy. There's dull thumping noise as he pounds his fist against the floor and Gou shouts at him for being annoying.

"Hey," Haru says. “Are you okay with this?”

Sousuke presses his lips together and says ruefully, “Well, this was not how I wanted them to find out. But—yes. I’m definitely okay with them knowing. They'd have known eventually, after all, because my plans are to keep you for the long haul.” He hesitates, eyes searching Haru’s face. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yes,” says Haru, and tries to convey all of the emotions he feels in that simple ‘yes’. Yes, he wants to stay with Sousuke for as long as they can stand each other. Yes, he likes Sousuke enough to see him every day and not get sick of him. Yes, yes, yes, to everything.

Judging from the way Sousuke’s smile grows luminous, he thinks he succeeds.

 

**Author's Note:**

> ok so fun fact: those of you subscribed to me probably got emails saying that I posted this yesterday. and I tried to, i really did, but ao3 kept putting that it was posted on like, august 12, so it was wayyyy back in the fandom page so I kept deleting it and trying again. So, sorry for any confusion! Have my contribution to what is, imo, is the most underappreciated ship in the fandom.
> 
> also, these idiots kept _looking at each other_ and as a result i have like 500 words of pure, unadulterated porn. which i might post. maybe. anyway, thanks for reading!


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